A Westminster tax renewal measure is officially in the hands of voters this fall.
Four hours before the county registrar’s deadline for additions to the November ballot, the Westminster City Council agreed to place a measure before voters in the fall asking if the 1% sales tax should be renewed. Called Measure SS, it was first adopted in 2016 with a six-year sunset — meaning it will expire in December.
The city’s finance director Erin Backs has warned that the expiration of tax will leave Westminster bankrupt by November 2024.
Mayor Tri Ta abstained from voting on the measure at Wednesday’s regular council meeting, citing his fundamental opposition to raising taxes. But at a special meeting Friday, Aug. 12, Ta agreed to advance a ballot measure letting voters decide on the renewal with the condition of a 20-year sunset clause.
“The sunset is a reminder for our city leadership (that) we better come up with a solution to continue all of the quality services that we’ve been providing,” Ta said.
Council member Chi Charlie Nguyen noted several nearby cities have 10- and 20-year sunset clauses on their local revenue measures.
The City Council passed the measure, sending it to the November ballot, with four affirmative votes and one abstention from Councilman Tai Do.
Diana Carey, a former City Council member who chairs Westminster’s Citizen Oversight Committee, said the sunset clause was to be expected given the partisan motivations of the council members. Still, the committee is satisfied with the outcome of Friday’s meeting, she said.
“We’re all very pleased that they came to their senses,” Carey said. “It was a really serious decision, and I have no doubt that it’s going to pass because it polled so high.”
A city survey conducted from March 25 to April 6 in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese found that 77% of respondents said they supported an extension of the sales tax.
